Magic Doesn't Work Here
by Clumsy Ninja
Summary: Leena Stone just needed a fresh start.  Something normal.  When you befriend Benny and Ethan, plus hiding secrets of your own, normal is far from possible.
1. Of Muffins and Men

**AN- So, I'm hoping they're in character. Feedback would be great 3  
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It was a normal Friday night at the Morgan residence. Ethan was in his room, playing a computer game, his best friend Benny was laying on his bed, reading a comic book. His parents were going out for date night, his little sister Jane was downstairs, waiting for the sitter. Ethan was a little bummed, because the usual sitter, Sarah, who he had an obvious crush on, was away for the weekend. There would be someone new to tease the high schooler about needing a sitter.

In reality, he wasn't responsible enough to look after his sister properly, or so had been decided, but Sarah wasn't so bad. Well, aside from being a vampire, but him being a seer, and his best friend being a spellmaster wasn't normal either. The whole town was pretty supernatural, and it was usually up to them to stop it. But tonight, it was quiet, especially after a call up from his parents that they were leaving. Ethan sighed, running a hand through his mop of dark brown hair, banging the controller lightly against his cheek. "Stop whining, it's distracting," Benny called from the bed, causing the other boy to turn in his swivel chair.

"...I haven't even said anything," Ethan pointed out, chucking a pen at the book before resuming the cheek-hitting.

Unphased by the pen, Benny continued, "Yeah, not yet. But you're going to go 'I miss Sarah, why did she go away, blah blah blah.' I don't want to hear it. You don't see me complaining that Erica went with her."

"But you don't _really_ like Erica. You like females. It's not the same thing. You walk around going 'Wow, she's hot' to just about everyone. I basically only see-" he was interrupted when the pen flew back at him.

"Don't want to hear it!" Benny cried, the comic book splayed on his chest, holding Ethan's pillow against his ears. "This isn't some girly sleepover. I don't care if you want to pour your heart out. Suck it up. Be a man!"

Ethan sighed again, flipping his chair around so he could rest his chin on its back as he resumed his game. Benny, happy for silence, or at least void of relationships, resumed reading.

The two hours that passed didn't seem to take too long, being immersed in separate things, so they both jumped a little when someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Hey, guys? Umm...Ethan and...friend, I just put Julie to bed, so if you want, you can come have some muffins and watch one of the classics with me?" the girl's voice came through the door. It wasn't entirely girly, but it was high enough and loud enough that it sounded as if she were in the room with them.

There was a pause, as the boys looked at each other, to the door, and repeated. "Uhhh,," they said in unison, gesturing in some weird sign language to try and decide.

"It's ok, thanks though?" Ethan replied, receiving a thumbs up from Benny.

"Oh, ok, just tell me if you die in there. Or at least if you're failing at Absolute Dream Fifteen," she called back as she walked away.

At least, they assumed she'd walked away, because she didn't say anything else. The friends looked at each other again, eyebrows raised. "How did she know what game you were playing? Did you leave the case downstairs?" Benny asked, sitting up on the bed.

Ethan shook his head, holding the case up, and they paused. He laughed a little, and said, "Julie probably told her. I have been playing it since I came home from school."

"Ha, yeah, you're probably right..." Benny laughed uneasily, frowning a little. He shook it off and wrinkled his nose. "Who was she going to bribe with muffins? If it had been a cake, or even cupcakes, but muffins? Pffft."

"Yeah, it's like trying to bribe someone with Star Trek : Voyager," Ethan joined in, causing both boys to shudder. "And what kind of classic is she talking about? It's probably girly."

"Yeah," Benny scoffed, rolling his olive-green eyes. "Like Pride and Prejudice, or Casablanca or something."

Ethan stared at him for a few seconds until his friend threw his hands up in the air. "What? Grandma tries to make me watch them, ok?"

It didn't take much more than half an hour longer for Benny's stomach to growl. "...Ok, so maybe I'll take her lame offering of muffins. But I won't give her the satisfaction of knowing I ate them," he proclaimed, heaving himself off of the bed.

"Ok, bring me one too," Ethan called after him, not bothering to look up from the screen.

Benny snuck quietly down the stairs, skipping the ones that squeaked, and bolted into the kitchen. He practically drooled at the smell of the chocolate chip muffins alone. The plate was in the middle of the island, piled high in some strange circular pyramid. Grabbing one off the top, he took a big bite – nearly half of the muffin top.

His eyes nearly rolled back into his head and he chewed as slowly as he could. "Alright, the offering was better than cupcakes," he mumbled to nobody in particular before devouring the rest of the muffin.

He grabbed one for Ethan, and another two for himself as he crept back towards the stairs. Benny paused and cocked an eyebrow at the familiar sounds coming from the TV. He inched closer to the doorway, and almost dropped his muffins.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

Biting his tongue, Benny raced up the stairs, not so stealthily this time, and missed the girl in the other room stifling laughter. Up in the hallway, he whisper-screamed, "Ethan! Ethaaan!" and threw himself into the room, closing the door.

His mouth agape, he gestured, trying to explain himself, though still keeping a death grip on the muffins. Ethan stared at him blankly before venturing a guess. "Um, somebody fell down a well while swordfighting?"

"No!" Benny cried, exasperated, falling to his knees. "The classic that she was talking about. It's...Star Wars, Episode Four. ...that, and these muffins are _delicious_."

Ethan stared at him again, while he devoured his second muffin, and tried to process what he was saying. "So...we've been hiding all night-"

"From another NERD!" he cried out again, shaking his head sorrowfully.

Then another thought dawned on him.

"I didn't even check to see if she was hot!"

With that, Benny was out the door, followed by Ethan who got tangled in his chair a little. They stood at the top of the stairs for a second, Benny combing a hand through his already crazy dark hair. "So...you're just assuming she's hot because...?"

"Hey, her voice sounded pretty good, and she did make these muffins," he stated, handing Ethan his slightly squished prize.

Ethan tasted the muffin gingerly, and ended up shrugging in agreement. "Ok, they are pretty good. But if you're going to stand here and not watch Star Wars, go ahead," he half teased, galumphing down the stairs. He stood kind of awkwardly in the doorway, the girl sitting on the couch not bothering to look up.

She smiled, laughing a little, before saying, "After the other guy with the sticky-uppy hair ran by, nearly having a heart attack, I thought you'd come down. Star Wars lovers?"

Benny peered into the room from the staircase, staring at the girl intently. Her hair was short, like she was growing out a pixie cut, and black as night, except for the neon pink tips. The glare on her thick, square-framed glasses didn't let him see her eyes very well, but they did remind him of someone. Deciding he needed a closer look, he hopped over the railing, his signature grin on his face. He interrupted Ethan's answer with a loud, "Hey there! I'm Benny, Benny Weir."

The girl laughed again, pausing the movie to look up this time. "The one who likes my muffins, right? Hey Benny. I'm Leena Stone, just transferred to your school. And my mother managed to get me to babysit within twenty-four hours of moving over the school district line..." she explained, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Ethan noticeably shifted, and Leena grimaced. "Ah, sorry, not your fault," she said, stretching a little and unbending her legs. She had been sitting Indian-style on the couch, and when she stood up, she the same height as Benny.

Both boys looked at her, and she stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, yeah. I'm huge, dressed like a bum, and watching Star Wars. Any comments and I'm keeping all the muffins," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Benny pouted a little, disliking how he couldn't tell if she were hot or not with sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. "Ok, just no looming over people. And why would we comment on you watching Star Wars?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen, bringing back the plate of muffins. "Other than it being awesome, and Sarah would never agree to watch anything nerdy."

"Ha, well, I'd rather watch this than those stupid Dusk movies that Jane tried to get me to watch," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

A muffin fell out of Benny's mouth as he stared at her. "You like Star Wars, hate Dusk, and make incredible muffins? Will you marry me?" he asked, eyes wide and slightly glazed over.

The girl blinked at him, and Ethan scrambled to cover up. "Don't pay any attention to him, he, uh, does that all the time? So, Leena, let's watch the movie?" he tried, before turning to whisper to Benny. "What are you doing? Muffin in mouth, now!"

She giggled at the interchange, and grabbed a muffin, stuffing half of it in her mouth, gesturing at the couch. "Sit," she mumbled through a full mouth.

Benny was still staring at her, and moved closer to look into her face. He squinted as she looked past him to Ethan, her eyebrow raised. "You have really weird eyes."

"Uh, excuse me? Do you want a muffin up your nose?"

He grimaced, shaking his head quickly. "No, I meant they're cool. They're like pale yellow-greenish. I've never seen eyes like that before," he explained, poking her cheekbone. "And your freckles make like a mask around your eyes."

"Yup, don't even need a mask to be a hero, now stop poking me before I bite you."

The hand snapped back to his side faster than she could blink, and she glanced at the scared looks on both boys' faces. "So, are you a friend of Sarah's?" Ethan asked nervously, reaching for a water gun on the coffee table.

"No? Hello, I just moved here. My mom is kind of a weirdo, and she overheard your mom saying she didn't have a babysitter, and practically jumped her," Leena explained, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Now, sit. Watch the movie."

The boys did as they were told, and she sat beside Benny, who thanked the heavens he wouldn't have to talk over his best friend to ask her questions. "So, any other nerdy habits?" he asked, smiling innocently at her.

"Uhm, pretty much everything? Comics, video games, sci-fi, computers, you name it. If only my mom understood..." she replied, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "Just...don't comment when you see me on Monday, ok?"

"As in, don't talk to you? Or-" Ethan asked, still a little nervous. It was hard for him to read this girl.

"What? No, please do. Help me find my classes if I get lost. I just meant about what I'd be wearing. It's...hard to explain. Never underestimate the power of a mother. She just wants me to be normal, in a normal place."

The boys laughed together, exchanging glances. "Riiiight. Normal. That's what Whitechapel is..."


	2. An Enemy of the Cheerers Part One

**AN - This is split up, because it would be super long if I kept it as the one chapter (I think). And I'm naming the chapters by re-arranging classic novel titles :D Tell me whatcha think? REVIEW AND BE LOVED.**

Benny had spent the walk to school looking for the tall, black haired girl. Ethan had gone in early for something he couldn't care to remember, and she was all he could focus on. Well, her and her muffins. He met Ethan at his locker, excited to share what had happened the night before. "So, I didn't really _believe_ that Leena was really a nerd. But last night, I was sent to get some stuff from the store, and I cut through the park. She was sitting on a bench, barely under a light, reading a stack of _comic books_. COMIC BOOKS!" he cried, waving his arms in the air.

"That's nice. You didn't know from her quoting Star Wars?" Ethan pointed out, closing his locker and walking along with his best friend.

"Well...she could have read that somewhere, and was trying to fool us?"

"Yup, that makes sense," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. He was about to continue, when something on the floor caught his eye. "Uh...what's that?"

They stood around a basket in front of Benny's locker, staring down at it. "Oh, hey, there's a n-"

"I know that smell! Muffins!" he cried, tearing the cloth off the top to reveal at least a dozen muffins.

As Benny held the cloth, starting to drool, Ethan took the note from him. "'Since you couldn't keep your hands off my muffins, I made you some of your own. Save me one!' and she signed her name. Wow, she made you muffins? I think we need to ask Sarah what it means..."

"It means, she likes making muffins for people who truly appre...ciate...them," Benny said, slowing down and dropping a precious muffin to the floor.

Ethan followed his eyes and would have dropped the note, if it wasn't stuck to his hand. "Oh, good, you saved me a muffin," a familiar voice said dryly, picking up the dropped muffin.

Leena tilted her head, waving her hand in front of their frozen faces. "Hello? Earth to fellow nerdlings?"

When they just pointed at her, she sighed. "I told you no comments."

Benny unfroze, and held his finger up. "...what if they're good comments? Like 'wow, I've never seen a cheer uniform look so good.' And I mean, hey, _I've _worn one."

Leena looked down at the black, white, and red uniform and pulled at in disgust. "Yeah, well, hear my mom roar, she...wait, did you say you were in a uniform?" she asked incredulously, interrupting herself.

"Yeah, we both were, but that's not the point. You're mom...?" he pressed on, trying to cover over his fumble, as he retrieved his things from his locker. She looked at him funny, but continued with what she had been saying.

"My mom got me a tryout first thing in the morning, something about how cheerleading is normal. How I'm 'so flexible I would make cheer captain' and my 'reflexes are so good...'" she sighed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

The boys stared at her again, and Benny raised his finger at her. She was hoping this wouldn't be a regular thing. "So...can I come watch cheer practice today?" he asked, grinning semi-innocently.

"Um...yeah, sure, I guess," she said, absentmindedly, tugging at the hem of her skirt. "I don't see why we have to wear these all the time, there aren't even any games right now. "

"Yeah, _that's _what I was thinking..." Benny replied, staring at her legs. He didn't understand how she hid them under track pants. If he had gams like that...

"Hey, Earth to Benny?" Leena said, smacking her fingers lightly against his cheek.

"What? What happened?"

"Well, you just zoned out, Ethan already left. He told me I should let you fend for yourself, but I wanted one more try to bring you back to reality," she said with a smile, turning on her converse clad heel and walking away. "I'll see you...well, at least at lunch."

He was still staring after her when a "Whoa, who is _that_!" caused him to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Jeez Rory!" he cried, tearing his eyes away to look at his blonde friend. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Why would I kill you, when I could...eat you!" the boy said seriously, flashing his fangs, before laughing. "I'm just kidding. But really, who was that?"

"That would be the best looking nerd I've ever seen. A nerd...who's also captain of the cheerleading squad!" Benny exclaimed, pumping both fists in a way that made it seem like he were having a slow seizure. Grabbing his stuff, as well as his basket of muffins, he walked to class with Rory, filling him in on what had occurred.

The lunch lady was getting annoyed at Benny, as he tried to juggle his tray and a basket half filled with muffins, and swivelling his head around. "You're going to drop it!" she squawked, smacking his sandwich against his chest.

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered as he walked away, shaking his head. Ex-witches sure could hold a grudge. Ethan, who was standing beside him, rolled his eyes.

"Really? You're still going on about that? Let's try this. She is a cheerleader. We're us. I really doubt-"

The explanation of high school politics was interrupted as they sat down, when Sarah looked at them like they had five heads. "There's a cheerleader waving at you..." she said slowly, pointing to Leena waving with a huge grin.

"Ah, yeah, that's-"

Ethan was interrupted as she slid in beside him, nudging him a little too hard. All of a sudden, he was in seer mode. There was Leena at cheer practice in the gym, then there was a black cat downtown, and seer time was up. He looked at her strangely, having missed her introduction to Sarah, and Rory's arrival. "...ourite super hero?" he heard, catching the tail end of Rory's question.

"Um, Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of sector 2814. No contest," she said, as if there were no debating it. "Have I proved my geekitude yet?"

Rory nodded in silent admiration, while Sarah just stared. "But...you look so normal! You're even a cheerleader!"

"Not by choice..." she grumbled, taking a bite of her huge chicken sandwich. "My mom expects me to not only be on the squad and captain it, but also improve them by 'at least thirty percent.'"

Benny just laughed as he reached for a piece of fallen chicken, only to get his hand smacked. "Well," he began, pulling his hand back to rub the red spot. "I will come to every cheer practice, just so you're not alone with the empty heads."

She looked at him, an eyebrow raised with a disapproving look. "I'm so sure that's the reason. Not just to watch girls stretch and throw each other or anything," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. She was grinning at him though, so he felt like he could laugh.

"Well, there is that too," he said with a wink.

It wasn't too long until last period was over, and Ethan's mind was still reeling from his weird vision. He'd told Benny, but he just ignored him, too pumped for cheer practice. "Hey man, I am already late. I can't miss skirts flipping, girls throwing each other. What if someone falls and needs assistance?" Benny cried, waving his hands in his best friend's face.

"Ok, ok, I'll come with you. Just in case something is weird. I don't want you to get...I don't know-"

"Mauled by a cat? Come on Ethan, chill out!" Benny interrupted, slinging his arm around his friend's shoulders.

Rory was already at the gym doors, his face pressed up against the small window. He turned around when they approached, his jaw still hanging open. "Dudes, this is amazing! Leena? She's like, a ninja!" he cried, pointing behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Benny asked, pushing past him to enter the gym, grinning at the pyramid. Leena was on top, and waved a pom-pom at him.

He was about to wave back when a girl in the middle of the pyramid started to wobble. The girls screamed and it toppled, but instead of down, Leena was up in the air, landing in a handstand before rolling easily to her feet. Her face showed she was not impressed, as she crossed her arms and looked at the squad. "Really? A little distraction and you tumble? There will be _way_ more distractions at a game. Get it together," she commanded, before turning to the guys and smiling. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Uh, you, apparently," Benny said, looking past her to the girls grumbling and rubbing sore arms and legs. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Land like that, that was awesome!" Rory exclaimed, eyes wide.

She blushed a little, and waved them over to the bleachers before barking at the squad again. They practiced for over an hour, just getting the pyramid right, to get it stable, and the girls were testy from being yelled at. So when Leena had them practice tosses, she should have expected some snappiness.

"What do you mean I'm too heavy? You won't even notice you're throwing me. Now a count of six between each toss, we don't want people to get hit by flailing limbs," she growled, standing in front of the three girls that would toss her.

The first toss was easy, the small girl did a tuck and was caught fine. The second girl tried to do a toe touch, but couldn't curl up properly, and was nearly dropped on her head. They got scolded for being careless; today was only about doing what they'd done before. Leena was up next, and the girls threw her, nearly cringing for her return. They ended up looking up in awe, as she flew through the air, high enough to do a double somersault and triple side spin before landing in the base. Everyone just stared at her as she stood there, hands on her hips. "What? Oh, forget it! Hit the showers ladies!" she exclaimed in frustration, throwing her hands up in the air.


	3. An Enemy of the Cheerers Part Two

As the girls disbanded, she turned and walked to the bleachers, shaking her head. Looking up at the guys' gawking faces, she groaned. "Not you too! I told you, I'm good, that's why I'm captain, now let's drop it. I'm going to get changed," she grumbled, grabbing her duffel bag and heading to the bathroom.

"Uh, showers are that way," Benny pointed out, indicating it with an outstretched hand.

"Yeah, showering with a bunch of stupid cheerleaders. That sounds fun," she scoffed, before holding her finger up. "Shut up, don't want to hear the teenage boy side of it."

The three shrugged as she walked away in slight disgust. As soon as she disappeared behind the bathroom door, Ethan grabbed Benny's arm in a death grip. "That's not normal! I don't usually see things from normal humans!" he cried, shaking him. "Do you believe me now?"

"You mean...she's a ninja?" Rory exclaimed, suddenly super excited.

"Yes Rory, ninjas aren't human. What planet are you on?" Benny mocked, smacking him in the back of the head. "You guys have both been suckin' something weird from your juice boxes. Sure, she has ninja moves, and is a babe-aliscious nerd, but that doesn't mean she's not human. Besides, that's kinda shallow coming from the seer and the vampire."

Leena walked out of the bathroom, in jeans and a t-shirt that said 'A Mind Is A Wooonderful Thing To Taste' with a graphic of a zombie eating a brain. She waved bye and started walking away. "I will catch you guys later. _This_ guy is walking _that_ girl home," he proclaimed, clapping his friends on the shoulders before running after her. "Hey Leena, wait up!"

Ethan sighed as Rory shook his head. "Man, Benny sure is desperate, huh? But at least he's not going after Erica anymore!" Rory exclaimed, fist pumping and doing a victory dance. The boys were too busy focused on each other to notice the guy who had been hiding beside the bleachers slip away.

Benny caught up to her at her locker, where she was shouldering her backpack. She looked at him and half laughed. "I guess this is what I get for transferring in March. Tons of homework."

"Nah, the school is like that all the time," Benny explained, waving her comment off with his hand. "Why did you transfer? You said you moved houses so it would be all good?"

"Mmm, it's kind of a long story..." she said, sounding a little sad. "The short version is, I defended my friend, and got expelled."

He fell in step beside her, their long strides matching perfectly. "That sucks...bet your friend is really grateful though!" he said with an enthusiastic grin.

She shifted awkwardly, and walked a little faster out of the glass doors. "Yeah, if she'd talk to me again, that would be great," Leena mumbled, kicking a stone on the sidewalk.

Benny hardly caught what she'd said as he caught up, and so it took a little longer to process what she'd said. "...wait, you defended her, and she stopped talking to you?" he asked finally, a weird look of confusion crossing his features. "That doesn't really make sense."

"It would if you were there. I get really scary when I'm mad."

They walked in silence for a little bit, the boy wondering what could make someone so scared. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Leena was staring at him. "Um, yes?"

"I was just wondering, you don't know where I live, so what are you doing?" she asked, squinting through her glasses at him.

"Hey," he said, holding his hands up in defence. "A guy's not allowed to walk a girl home?"

Leena blinked then laughed at him. "Yeah, you are, sorry. It's...yeah, nevermind," she laughed off, shaking her head. "But we'll be walking by your house to get there, so it's more like 'isn't a girl allowed to walk a guy home?'"

"Who says I won't walk all the way home with you?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow and grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, shoving him playfully, but he still almost lost his balance. "Oh, sorry," she giggled, covering her mouth to hide her smile. "And I say you won't. Because I'm walking _you_ home."

Benny was about to fire back a comment, but she muttered an 'Oh no' and dropped her bags. He looked ahead to try to see what she was running after, and his heart sunk as he saw a cat running into the path of an oncoming car. He closed his eyes, pulling his shoulders up to his ears to cover the sickening crunch. He felt the air of the car go by, and pried one of his eyes open. He'd heard no smush, not even any breaks, and there was no dead cat on the road.

Instead, there was a smiling Leena walking toward him, a happy white cat purring and rubbing its face against hers. She was murmuring to it as she approached the gawking boy. "How...what...what just happened?" he cried, looking from the cat to the road and back again. "It was...I thought...what?"

"I called him back. Isn't he cute?" she cooed as the cat crawled to hang over her shoulder. "He doesn't have an owner, so I'm going to take him home with me! His name is Lorca."

The boy was still staring as she picked up her things, carrying the duffel bag and backpack in the same hand. He could have sworn the cat stuck it's tongue out at him as she called, "Coming Benny?"

He shook his head to clear it, and ran after her. "So...you're just taking this cat? Won't you have to ask?" he queried, cocking his neck to see her face. He was surprised that that she was practically glowing as she nuzzled the cat.

"Yes? I never have to ask to bring cats home. Half the time they follow me home anyway," she explained, tearing her attention away from the cat. She beamed at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Really? That's neat the only things that follow me are...ah, nothing good," he said, looking up to the side. He wasn't about to mention that bad things were what followed him around. _The slim chance of her liking me would get to none if she knew about all the weird things that happen,_ he thought, sighing under his breath. "But that's neat. ...but I bet you have a lot huh?"

"Yeah, we do sort of," she laughed, nuzzling Lorca with her ear. "They don't live in the house though, not most of them. They come, eat in the backyard, get a cuddle, and leave. This one, he'll stay with me." Upon saying this, the cat meowed loudly, causing Benny to look at him oddly.

"...right, so," Benny paused at the corner, staring down the road that would take him home. Sure it was longer than normal, but he'd gotten to talk to Leena. He didn't get to walk her home, but time without Ethan trying to prove she was, well, whatever he thought she was, was nice.

She turned to him, smiling widely. "Thanks for...letting me walk you almost home," she giggled, pausing to shift the cat fully on her shoulders before sticking her hand in her pocket. "Before I forget...cellular number?"

It took a second to sink in, but Benny hurriedly told her his number, before she waved and walked away. He walked a little down the street before jumping up and pummelling the air with his fists. "A girl...no, an _attractive_ girl asked for my phone number!" he cried in a hushed tone, grinning his signature grin. He paused, and ran back to the corner, already calling out, "Hey, Leena! I forgot-"

He looked down the street, but she wasn't there at all. "...to get your number," he said slowly, standing on tip-toe to see if he could find her. There was nowhere for her to go- the street kept going straight, and there wasn't another street close enough to turn onto.

His eyebrows knit in confusion, Benny walked away down the street, muttering, "I'll have to tell Ethan..."

The next week at school, Ethan was even more insistent that Leena was not a normal girl. "I'm telling you Benny," he whispered as they made their way over. "After what you said, there's no way she's normal! Nobody just disappears!"

"She could have...gotten a ride," Benny offered, his shoulders raising a little, knowing it was a weak argument. He put his grin on again as they approached the girl at her locker, wearing the cheer uniform she despised.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she asked, smiling at them. "I had _a ton_ of homework, I had to stay up so late. I hope I didn't wake you up at two when I texted you, Benny."

"Nah...wait, that was you?" he asked, bringing his phone out of his pocket. He opened his messages and reread the last text message out loud. "'Man, I wish I had a sidekick to make do my homework for me...' That's your number?"

She laughed, nodding, as she grabbed her books and held them to her chest. "Yessir. Hey, have you guys seen the other cheerleaders today?"

The boys looked at each other, shaking their heads. "No? I don't think so. Nobody pointed out we were nerds, geeks, or dorks this morning," Ethan stated shyly. As much as he didn't trust her, he found it hard not to like her.

"Oh...I saw one of them, and she...well, I mean, I'm kind of glad, but she wasn't all peppy. No 'Hey captain! Blahblahmagazineblahblah!' like yesterday," she explained, making a weird face.

"She might just be tired from practice, you were riding them kinda hard," Benny offered, shrugging. He shrank a little when she gave him a withering look.

"Well, they're the ones who aren't up to par. And I mean on a regular scale," she snapped, turning on her heel and walking away. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

Benny reached his hands out grasping at air, a sad look on his features. "Good job, buddy," Ethan said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Barely getting her to not think you're a dork, and you get her upset. I think that's a record."

"Shut up, I – WHOA," he screamed, clutching at his heart. "Rory would you...what are you wearing?"

The blonde looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a makeshift male cheer uniform. Which may have been fine. If they had male cheerleaders.

"You know...I don't even know why I'm wearing this. I woke up and just dressed myself. I don't even remember choosing this," Rory said, almost in a daze as he pulled at his t-shirt.

"...riiiight, that's..._normal_," Benny scoffed as the three walked towards their class.

Sarah soon joined them, and opened her mouth to comment on Rory's wardrobe choice but closed it again. "I'm not going to ask. What's up guys?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just managed to piss off the coolest girl ever," Benny grumbled, kicking the ground in annoyance, hands shoved in his pockets.

Sarah raised an eyebrow, and turned to Ethan. "He commented on Leena's tough love captaining, and she just walked away. Which isn't usually how she acts, from what I can tell," Ethan explained, shrugging his shoulders. "Benny is taking it as a huge thing that will mean she'll never be interested in him."

"Oh," Sarah said flatly, looking at the taller boy funnily. "That's all? She didn't yell at you? She's just upset you think she was doing her job wrong."

"If you say so...I'll see you guys later," Benny sighed, ducking into his classroom.

"He really likes her, huh?"

"Yeah, you know Benny. He likes every girl. But someone good looking _and_ into the exact same things he is, it's a bit too good to be true," Ethan said, turning to Rory for confirmation, but the vampire boy was nowhere to be seen.

"...he gets weirder every day, I swear," Sarah laughed, waving goodbye to Ethan before going into her class.

Lunch was normal, except Rory was missing. Leena apologized for snapping, and Benny was all too happy that she wasn't mad at him. After they'd finished eating, they went to the student lounge, and Sarah and Leena were sitting on the couch talking. The short haired girl was sitting upside-down, her legs hanging over the back of the couch. "No way, that happened?" she asked between bouts of laughter as Ethan shifted awkwardly.

"Hey, I won..." he mumbled, shooting Sarah a glare.

"Yeah, by tickling him!" she cried, shaking her head. "And then Sarah just-"

She suddenly sat up, holding onto the back of the couch, staring down the hallway, her eyebrows knit together. The others looked at each other then back at her. "Uh, Leena," Benny began, reaching to shake her arm.

"Shhh," she hissed, smacking his hand away. "I'm trying to hear something! Something's wrong."

Knowing the weird things that happened at their school, the others started straining their ears. "I don't hear any-"

"Shush Ethan! I can hear something too," Sarah commanded, her eyes widening.

It wasn't much longer until the boys could hear something too. There was an odd scream, and some weird monotone noise. Soon, a few scared students were running down the hallway, and they all jumped up instinctively. None of them noticed how she flipped strangely over the couch, or why she was jumping up in the first place.

Following the students was the cheer squad, plus a couple of extra members, including Rory. They were moving in unison as if they were cheering, but they were marching and chanting. "We hide in the dark, and attack like a shark! We see your fear, which makes us sneer. Don't think your protected-we'll catch you when least suspected! Go cry, run or pace, either way we love the chase! So Run Run as fast as you can we'll catch up we're the cheer clan"

Leena smacked her palm against her forehead as the other three looked at her. "I swear, that's not any cheer I'd come up with. They are so dumb..." she muttered, shaking her head.

"Yeah, what kind of cheer is that? It doesn't even make sense, it's not peppy!" Benny complained loudly, attracting all the eyes of the squad at once. "Ok...that's creepy. Ethan! Explain!"

"I don't know! How am I supposed to know?" he fumbled as they kept chanting, marching towards the student lounge.

The cheer captain was about to say that at least they seemed peaceful, just crazy. Up until three girls cartwheeled down the hallway into people and just kept going, allowing them to get trampled by the rest of the squad. "Ok, this doesn't seem good..." she said under her breath before nimbly hopping up onto the back of the couch. "Everyone out! Killer cheer squad! No don't look you creeps, run!"

"She's so cool," Benny swooned, receiving a slap to the back of the head from Sarah.

"Come on Benny, this is serious. What's going on here?" she asked as he rubbed his head.

The look she gave Ethan seemed to tell him to find out, and he edged closer to the oncoming group. His shoulders creeping up to his ears, his voice wavered as he called out, "Rory? What's going on, what's with the- NOT COOL RORY, NOT COOL!"

Rory had his fangs out, about to bite an unconscious freshman. They were inches away before a pen flew across the room, hitting him in the face. His glazed over blue eyes shifted to the girl on top of the couch, who was baring her teeth. "Put her down, you fang face!" she growled, hopping off gracefully.

"Are you nuts?"

"Who are you calling fang face?"

Ethan and Sarah glanced at each other as they had just spoken in unison, and glanced up at Leena, who was holding the glazed stare of the boy. She blinked and Rory was gone. She ducked just as Benny jumped in front of her, yelling, "Get down he's-"

He didn't get to finish because the blonde blur smacked into him, bringing them both to the ground. "Rory, come on dude! We're buds right?" Benny motored on as his friend sat on him, fangs bared. "We've been through a lot! Standing in line for Clone Wars, when we went to ComiCon. Oh, don't forget when I tried to save you from being turned into a vampire!"

His words slowed the actions of the dazed creature, and his eyes started to clear. Then the cheer squad was moving closer, after half of them went down another hall. He growled, bringing his head down for the kill, when he went skittering over the floor. "Leave him alone," Leena hissed, placing her foot back on the ground.

_When did she..._ Benny never got to finish because Rory was up and charged.

There was a slight movement by his head, and Leena was now behind the charging vampire. He watched as Rory's foot connect with his stomach, and coughed, curling into a ball. Sarah grabbed onto Rory, who was flying to catch himself, and flung him across the room. He was somehow stronger than usual, and stopped before he hit the wall. There was no smirk, no triumphant grin. There was nothing, and Ethan stared, frozen, as his friend locked onto him. He didn't move, not out of fear, but if he could just touch Rory, he might know what was happening.

As the boy flew at him, the seer sidestepped, and reached out. He caught hold of his arm and held on as he slipped into a vision. Rory had gone back to talk to the cheerleaders after Ethan had left. There was a guy he'd never seen before holding onto a fire totem. Next he saw, they were on the ground, the totem glowing. Rory was suddenly in class, his eyes glowing the same colour the fire totem had, and he stood up, starting the chant.

He let go as he hit a wall, and gasped, sliding to his butt as Sarah and Rory fought, Leena checking on Benny.

"They're being controlled!" Ethan blurted out, once he'd found his voice.

Rory went flying across the room again, this time right into the tall girl. "Bitch!" she hissed, sitting up from where she'd been knocked down. "You hurt my friends, terrorize my new school, cut my face and knock my glasses off. I am not a happy person."

When she stood up, Benny felt something furry brush against his arm as she sped at Rory, one swift kick to the side of his head sending him into the vending machine. She stood, teeth bared until she felt the stares. "Come on, we have to move," she grumbled, grabbing Rory from the vending machine as the other three, stunned followed her out.

They ran out into another hallway, into the gym. She put Rory on the bleachers and turned to the others. "So...maybe I have some explaining to do..."

"You think?" Benny cried, pointing incredulously at Leena, eyes wide. He clutched his stomach again as he looked at her.

Black, furry cat ears twitched on the top of her head, twisting to listen for incoming chanting. Her pale face had scraps of black fur on it, nearly following the path of her freckles, tufting out on her cheekbones. Her pupils were pointed ovals in the dimmer light, which made the other streaks of fur on her arms and legs stand out that much more. Her long black tail twitched nervously under the scrutiny of her new friends, but she stared on, standing tall.

"What...are you?" Sarah asked, being the first to step forward.

"Well, scientifically, I'm a Homo Felis, distant relative of the Homo Lupus. But," she sighed, bringing her hand out in front of her and tensing, her nails lengthening into claws. "More commonly known as a Werecat."

**AN - Betcha weren't expecting that one! Review please 3**


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